In plain words
As long as there are desires, Śānti cannot be had
If we are to gain such sacred Śānti of mind, we must bring our desires under control, step by step. As long as there are desires, we cannot have Śānti. If you ask how far away from us God is, God is just as far away as you are from yourself. Think Him far, and He is far. Think Him near, and He is within you. For both, the cause is your own state of mind, not divinity. So we must give this state of mind the strength and capacity it needs. That strength is the strength of Prema. That strength is divine strength. It takes the form of rasa and pervades everything in man. That is why the Upaniṣads described it as ‘Raso vai saḥ’. From that which is the form of rasa, only rasa comes. Nīrasa cannot come from it at all. All that is in our body is the form of rasa! Our whole body too is blood cells... We often say, ‘Śānti, Śānti’. It is not something God creates. Where does it come from? Śānti comes to you from the work you do and from your thoughts. If our thoughts are good, Śānti comes to us easily. If our conduct is good, Śānti comes to us easily. When our conduct and our thoughts run contrary, we experience the opposite of Śānti: unrest. What is the cause of our Śānti and our unrest? Our thoughts and our deeds. What we do is bad; what we want is good. How can that come about?
If you plant the lime, will it bear the mango fruit? If you plant the mango, will it bear the lime fruit?
If you plant a lime seed and want a good mango, will you get one? If you plant a mango seed and want a good lime to make lemon rice, will it come? This is not right. Whatever seed we sow, that is the fruit we get.
‘I will do this, I will do that, I will do so much more’: do not wear yourself out weaving such fancies. The seeds you sowed to come to be here: those very fruits come to you. When the seed is one, fruits that differ: how can that ever come about?